Wrexham player-manager Andy Morrell is determined to take the positives from Tuesday night’s 3-2 defeat at FC Halifax, even though the red-card dismissal of Stephen Wright at The Shay means team selection headaches this coming weekend.

The former Liverpool and Sunderland defender is now set to serve a one-match ban for denying a goal-scoring opportunity and will miss this weekend’s visit to Tamworth.

Less than impressed by the performance of referee Peter Bankes and his linesmen, Morrell said: “I need to have a look at it before I say anything about the ref because I think one or two (goals) might have been offside.

“And then for the free kick he gave that led to the first goal I thought Kev (Thornton) got the ball.

“If he got them (decisions) all right, then fair play, but I’m not so sure. The damage was done then and we needed to get through to half-time at 2-1 if possible.”

Even with 10 men, Wrexham dominated the second period, but had only an Adrian Cieslewicz goal to show for their impressive display, due to a combination of wayward finishing and a solid defensive performance by the home side.

“I can’t believe how good we were in the second half,” added the Dragons’ boss.

“We played into their hands too much in the first half. We played on top of their two centre-halves, which was not the way forward, but in the second half when we started passing it, moving it and playing it, we absolutely battered them – even with 10 men.

“I’ve said to the players I thought it was the best football we’ve played for a long time – and with 10 men. If we play like that, with the same tempo and urgency for a full 90 minutes I think we will destroy teams.

“The chances we had were unbelievable and I’m gutted for them. They were fantastic, we got our full-backs up the pitch and I didn’t think they could cope with us. At times we were scintillating, but it doesn’t excuse the first half when, with 11 men, we got bullied a little bit.”

With Wright unavailable on Saturday and Wrexham still awaiting international clearance for new signing Junior N’Tame, Morrell will be hoping Mark Creighton is fit to resume after playing in the opening game last Saturday before being rested against Halifax.

He said: “We’ve got a problem now with Wright suspended and, although we have signed N’Tame, we’ll probably have to wait until Christmas for international clearance!

“It should be a boost when it comes through, but I can’t be guaranteed it will be done in time for Saturday.

“Creighton has come back from a year out and it’s going to be a long road for him still. Playing three games a week is going to be tough for him, but he’s making good progress.

“He was really stiff after Saturday because he hadn’t trained for two weeks and then played a full 90 minutes.

“The repercussions are that he is sore and we have to look after him to make sure he doesn’t miss months rather than the odd game or two.”

Wrexham reserves yesterday drew 1-1 with Oldham Athletic.

Rob Ogleby, who started for the Dragons in the defeat at Halifax, scored the goal for Wrexham.